Dark Light
by Ao Redd
Summary: The epic tragedy that is Lucian and Sonja, from beginning to end. In progress, though finally updated!
1. Chapter One: Beginnings

AUTHOR'S CORNER

I've contemplated doing this for a long time. This story is my first venture into fan fiction. Ever. So do be kind, will you?

Also, I haven't seen or used any elements from Rise of the Lycans because I want this story to be my untainted version of Lucian/Sonja inspired by the FIRST film. This is particularly because I don't like the Sonja I've seen in trailers. If she and Lucian are the rebellious traitors from the start, they lose their appeal as sympathetic victims.

Anyways, here it goes.

He heard her. He needed her. For the first time, he had sifted through the ice that had encased him in many ways and felt it again. Felt her again...

***

It was too cold.

And noisy. In a strange way, at that. Most did not speak much louder than a whisper, but Sonja could hear each vampire annunciate every syllable. She felt trapped in a dark chasm. A deep, hollow cave filled with rubies, lace, and pearly smiles. The extravagance of vampire balls had once amazed her as a child, but as she grew she came to realize it was nothing more than gossip and bland chatter masquerading as importance. She couldn't remember when her adolescent fascination with the pristine, vampire world had died.

"My Sonja," her father's voice called as her approached her with the same grace and august as a tiger, king over his dark jungle and its sulky inhabitants. He gave her what she had called 'Daddy's true face' when she was younger, the only shred of honest warmth anyone would ever see on the vampire leader's face. It was Sonja's and hers alone. His fair hair and skin seemed to be an incredible contrast to his black coat, intricate gold embroidery stretching across his shoulders and down his back like the skin of a prize animal. His tall stature and constant icy blue eyes gave him an intimidating appearance to say the least, though Sonja had been raised by it and had never known to fear it.

"Dearest, wouldn't you at least try to show the slightest shred of interest in our social gatherings?" he asked her with a gentle voice, tucking a lock of her hair carefully behind her ear. His hands felt as though they were covered in a thin layer of a winter morning's frost, both in color and touch. He had obviously just woken from his great sleep, recently replacing Markus as leader of the coven.

"Father, you must be starved. I don't see why you waste your time here with these people," she remarked with an almost too disrespectful tone. The aristocratic vampires had fallen from her favor while under Markus' reign, their greedy mouths lapping up innocent blood...

"You really are too kind, Sonja. If you let it win you over, Amelia will easily usurp you as next in line for the Third."

Sonja wasn't a politician. She had no ambitions of becoming the coven's next great leader, though he father had desired to see her become the first female leader, furthering his control of the clan. It also secured her position in the vampire world so he wouldn't have to constantly worry for her safety while he was away ruling in another province. Their population was growing and spreading, making the families as difficult to rule as the Mongolian empire.

The leaders followed a careful pattern. Spend a few years in one castle until that council is molded to the leader's views and works as flawlessly as the cogs in a master-crafted clock. Once the bureaucracy is air-tight and the council is capable of ruling on its own, they move to the next castle with the greatest need of a stable leadership. It seemed like a system waiting to crack, but it had somehow survived with little trouble through centuries.

"Of course, Father," she replied, her voice crumbling into its more routine submission.

Giving her another earnest smile, he kissed her wrist, a vampire custom, before departing and disappearing into the crowd of rubies, emeralds, and black...

***

"You're getting too old for this." A grumble that somehow managed to escape his Lycan son's ears, eyes glinting with a mischievous light. He was already into his adult years, yet he had managed to evade actually growing up. His younger brothers had already their found mates, one even with a child, but not Lucian. His entire appearance radiated a wild and free glow, almost as if no matter how much clothes he put on to hide it; anyone could recognize the sheer wild in him.

It worried his father. Most lycans with that kind of nature were younglings. An older lycan with an untamed personality would undoubtedly attract trouble and suspicion from their vampire masters. Yet somehow, Lucian had avoided that as well. Though his appearance couldn't help but resonate untamed, his wolfish qualities extended into charm. Well-mannered and with a deep-rooted sense of chivalry and loyalty, he played a good daywatcher for the vampires, and despite their suspicion, no one could deny that Ambrus' son was a dedicated guardian.

He watched as Lucian ascended into the sky, like the winged sun god told in old lycan folklore. Lucian had jumped maybe thirty feet when he landed as if he had only taken one step.

"Won't you join me, Father?" he called across the distance, a teasing smirk lit his warm complexion. Ambrus rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath before attempting the same great leap. Ambrus momentarily felt the great wind of youthful excitement fill his lungs, though it immediately and violently left him when he crashed into his waiting son.

"Graceful landing, if I do say so myself," Ambrus laughed, helping his slightly dazed son up off the floor. They both stared at the sun melting into the horizon, signaling the near-end of their shift. The vampire's ball would have started by now. Lucian had always been curious what festivities the blood-kind enjoyed, but had never been bold enough to disturb their sacred rituals.

"Get home to your mother, boy. I have some things to contemplate," Ambrus commanded, both as a father and as the alpha male of his family. Lycans only disobeyed direct orders from superiors if it was urgent, and feeling no need to be alarmed, Lucian gave a small nod and left his father. He had been needing time for thinking a lot lately.

***

Sonja pulled a painful pin out of her golden-blonde hair, which promptly fell down onto her shoulders once released from its confinement. She strode down familiar corridors alone, having managed to escape the ongoing party. Her dress was the darkest blue, only colors of deep shades allowed, with black beads sewn into the corset. How she hated it. She wanted to wear something rich with color and life, something that could shine in her lightless world.

Additional footsteps echoed in the halls, swiftly approaching behind her. She clenched her fists as her stomach panicked, forgetting to devise some excuse for her abrupt leave. Expecting the agitated face of her disappointed father, she turned and expected the worst, but instead, found the exact opposite.

TO BE CONTINUED

I have breaking off at the point that they meet, but it felt like a good place to stop. I didn't want my first chapter to be too long. R&R, won't you please?


	2. Chapter Two: Attracting Grace

AUTHOR'S CORNER

It's time for chapter two. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive feedback I've received, even subscriptions, and you all have my humble thanks!

Many of you have complained how there are few good Sonja/Lucian fics on the web, and I completely agree with you. This was part of the pushing motivation this story, and the fact that I was brimming with curiosity about a love that started a war.

So in response, here are two of my personal favorite S/L fics:

.net/s/2182066/1/Just_Like_Heaven

.net/s/1611004/1/The_Covenant

I draw a lot of inspiration from 'The Covenant' and think that Jess J is a brilliant writer. Unfortunately, Jess J is a retired fan fiction writer and never finished The Covenant.

Alright, enough commentary and back to the story!

- - -

Lucian froze in his tracks, chained to the spot. He hadn't predicted any of the vampire royals would have left the party so early, so he chose the quickest passage- the restricted corridor reserved only for vampires. What was worse was the way he reacted.

He stared.

No, he flat-out gaped at the woman in front of him. It was socially unacceptable, but he hadn't managed to muster the strength to look away from her blue eyes. They were a natural, deep shade of blue that Lucian couldn't find a name for even if he stared for a hundred years. He desperately wanted that hundred years to stare.

24-karat locks caressed her face and flowed as a waterfall of melted gold down her shoulders, shining brilliantly to each fine end. Her skin was the purest shade of pale, and he immediately knew her to be the legendary princess of the moon his mother warned him of in stories when he was but a pup.

_She was so beautiful, that young lycans would waste their youths away just staring at her face. When she had left them, they howled at the moon in sorrow, its pale glow reminding them of their lost love._

Lucian would have gladly sacrificed his youth. It would be worth it.

Her eyes met his with a mutual curiosity. An understanding that speaking meant everything, but at the same time, could mean nothing.

Lucian kneeled so that his body would tear his eyes away from hers for him.

"My apologies, milady. I wasn't aware the party had ended. Forgive me."

Lycans were only ever allowed to look their masters in the eye when given orders, but under usual circumstances, they were to look towards the ground. Lycans were slaves, mere scenery to the vampires, and anyone who thought otherwise would receive swift punishment. Looking at a vampire woman the way Lucian just had was beyond scandalous.

"Please, don't apologize. You're not at fault," she responded, her voice sweeter than any sugar Lucian had ever tasted and he was surprised the words didn't melt on her tongue before she had the chance to speak them.

A deadly silence followed. Lucian was compelled to move, and at the same time, rooted to the spot. He was the rabbit, too petrified by her grace to move a muscle or scream, so close to a certain death while falling in love with the arrow.

***

He's a deity. He's a sun. He's _different_. None of Sonja's thoughts could properly describe the man in front of her. He lit up the room without any means of a candle or torch, just with his presence. She could feel it. She could feel him. He was a sun, and if she stepped too close, she'd surely be burned.

But it was the first thing that had ever relieved the cold.

Though a lycan! Her father had instructed her to stay away from the 'devilish hounds' that 'snarl and kill anything that crosses their path'. She'd crossed this lycan's path completely unharmed. For only a moment, she wondered how many of her father's stories had been lies.

Their curious thoughts were interrupted by voices. Two harsh voices that undoubtedly belonged to vampires sent on a reluctant search for their missing princess. It only took an instant to understand what that meant for the lycan, memories of others being whipped to near-death for lesser crimes.

"Quickly! Come!" she commanded as she ducked into a nearby weaponry room. The lycan followed obediently and without hesitation. Neither had dared to breathe when the footsteps reached the door.

"Damn girl," came the hiss of the first vampire, his voice muffled by the door, yet distinctively clear, "must have run off to her quarters before we could catch her."

"Her father won't like that," came the second.

"He never does. It's not as if this were the first time."

"Truly. Maybe he should adopt and hope for better luck the second time."

The pair's laughter followed them down the hall as they returned to their party.

Sonja felt humiliated. She was the opposite of what her father could have hoped for, hiding in a weapon's closet with a lycan.

"I think… they're wrong…"

Startled, Sonja looked over to the corner where the bold lycan had spoken the words, obviously reading the despaired expression on her face.

"How would you know?" she asked, her dismayed lips trying for a polite smile.

"You don't even know me."

"You have the glow."

"The what?" Sonja asked, confused by his cryptic answer.

"It's not something a vampire could easily understand… but, we lycans know… it's like the thin layer of light that surrounds the moon… people can have it, too… it's rare, but I can see it in you… a light that gives all people hope."

Sonja stood speechless, mouth agape, expectantly waiting for the right words to come.

"Did you just compliment me?"

He laughed, and for some reason unknown to her, it made Sonja smile.

"What's your name, lycan?" she asked.

"Lucian, milady," he answered, his words formal but his tone soft.

"Lucian," she said absent-mindedly, noting how the name fit perfectly on her tongue.

She attempted to move closer to him, but retreated when an icy pain cut into her arm. She'd forgotten the room was recklessly cluttered with weapons… silver weapons!

Sonja gasped and immediately pushed open the door, the light seeping in the room revealing the lycan's sickly white face, quickly descending into unconsciousness. She dragged him out of the room, a silver arrow in his side rapidly poisoning and drawing the blood out of his body.

Tearing off a portion of her dress, she wrenched the arrow from his side and hastily covered the spitting wound with a bunch of velvety cloth. As his eyes closed and his mind began to fade, she pleaded for him in the most cliché ways to refuse death.

"Please, don't give in! Don't give up yet."

***

Lucian groaned, dim lights and a dull pain in his side confusing his vision. Disoriented, Lucian tried to defy his body's painful urging to return to consciousness, his aching mind feebly grasping for the thin wisps of his last memories. Snarling voices… a blue dress… Sonja… oh, her…

"Ah! You're awake!"

Lucian jumped at her voice, his wide eyes gawking in disbelief at her relieved face. Her buttermilk laugh almost completely eased the sudden fear following the realization of where he was: the vampires' sector.

"I was fearful that you might die from blood loss, so I had my maid Jocelyn help me bring you here for me to better attend you. Don't worry, she's one of the few uncorrupted of my kind. Now drink," she instructed, handing him a goblet filled with a light yellow liquid.

Sailors could no better resist the call of the siren than Lucian could Sonja's voice. He quickly swallowed the liquid, its freezing effects causing goose bumps to crawl across his skin.

"Consider yourself lucky to be born with a normal digestive system," Sonja chided at his disturbed look, implying at the difficulty vampires had receiving any ingested medicine for pain, their systems mutated to receive only blood.

The fresh scar on Lucian's side turned to ice, numbing the pain.

Sonja ran her fingers over it, her hand managing to be even colder than the effects of the tonic, though Lucian was sure it wasn't the cold that caused him to inhale a sharp breath.

Sonja removed her hand, afraid that she had hurt him, though Lucian shook his head.

"It wasn't pain, milady. It was quite the opposite."

Sonja looked at him with inquisitive eyes, the deep pools of her eyes he assumed served as an illusion hiding the true fire beneath them. He could only imagine it matched the growing flame in his tightening chest.

"I… I must go," Lucian said, the truth painful in his voice.

Sonja nodded dumbly, but wasn't discouraged by his words. If anything, they fed wood to her secret fire.

Lucian lifted himself off the makeshift bed she had prepared, noticing for the first time the crushed and bloodied strips of blue she had removed from her dress. That beautiful dress that she had probably treasured, spoiled by his blood. It was best that he leave. It was best that he didn't further troubling her.

"Lucian!" Sonja called to him as his hand grasped the door knob, not certain if he had the strength left in his drained body to face her and then leave her with the same resolution.

"Yes, milady?"

"Do you think it possible," she started nervously, mindfully watching each step onto the thin ice covering lethal waters, "that I might see you again?"

Lucian paused, his heart elated that she wanted to know him, but also very concerned for her. Her nature was kind but incredibly careless, capable of tarnishing her reputation among her people.

"If that is milady's wish, then we shall meet again soon."

Sonja nodded, a signal allowing him to leave. As he left, his heart was still thundering in his ears and in his blood, the sensation of her wintry fingers lingering on his skin.

TO BE CONTINUED

Wow, finally got the second chapter out. The first chapter took a little less than an hour to write and edit, while this chapter took well over three days to imagine, write and edit. However, this chapter is considerably lengthy compared to its predecessor. I'm going to TRY and get one new chapter out each week, but we'll see how much more school wants to burden me with absurd amounts of homework and strains on my free time.

I have to admit, I'm not as pleased with this chapter as much as the first. What do you think?


	3. Chapter 3: The Garden

After nearly a year's hiatus, I've decided to take up writing once again! It seems that miracles do happen. Or the inspiration for a new story brings determination to finish an old one. I have to admit, I hit a sort of rut that I never really found the energy to pass. I think I retreated into classic romances to find a way to continue, which might be most evidently from Romeo and Juliet. Original, I know. However, I did write the beginning portion of this chapter a week after I posted the second one. Also, I'm not sure I'll be as knowledgeable about the series as I was when I first starting writing this (considering I haven't watched it since), though I'll try my best to be as accurate as possible.

---

Sonja sat at her father's side, but she was not with him. She listened to the council members, but she didn't hear their words. Lucian. She'd grown quite fond of repeating the name in her head. Lucian…

It was forbidden. It was taboo. To speak of it would be a crime, but she assumed nothing wrong with thinking about it, about him. Her heart ached with ironic laughter, the girl able to catch any vampire in her net only desires to hunt a lycan. Lucian…

It had been a week since they'd met, and not one day passed without her expecting him to appear as suddenly as the first time, though a part of her knew he couldn't. As she woke each morning, she wanted to rise without looking at her torn blue dress, the disheveled fabric the only proof that he had even existed. His blood scorched the shredded hems, dried life on deathly blue.

"Sonja," a voice called to her, returning her attention to the room filled with shadows and ice blue stares, including the gaze of her father.

"Won't you share your thoughts on the matter?" he implored.

"I will honor your decision, father. I trust your wisdom exceeds that of my own."

Viktor tried to keep his expression solid as stone, though Sonja could detect the cracks. The curl in his lip that revealed pride in Sonja, and though he hated to be beaten, she surely was his daughter, able to play his games just as well as he could.

"Very well. Ten soldiers then, no more and no less."

Sonja heaved an internal sigh. The other council members nodded in agreement, hungrily trying to earn Viktor's favor and higher positions before he left for the next province. This castle had been the last in Markus' reign and required minimal attending. Viktor rose, signaling the end of the meeting. Each member bowed respectfully before leaving the room, though Sonja doubted their thoughts shared the expression.

"Sonja, won't you stay for a moment?" he asked, predicting her mind already ten steps out the door.

Sonja nodded, letting him take her hands in his, freezing her to the spot.

"Sonja, I'm leaving tomorrow."

She knew his words' meaning, but her face still conveyed confusion.

"You mean… alone?" she asked, her tone as lost as her expression.

"Sonja, I'm leaving you here to rule while I'm away. This will prepare you for the judgment."

The judgment. The council members deciding who would be better fit for the third position of coven leader. Sonja already knew it should be Amelia by traditional standards, though her father saw the potential her will possessed to uproot and change the foundations. He failed to recognize the danger.

Sonja looked away, only to have her father's hand guide her chin to make her eyes meet his. Weakness, however little of it.

"Please, darling, don't be sad. It will only be a little while, and you know I only act by what I think is best for you."

"I understand," she replied, trying to muster an earnest smile to mask her sadness.

Satisfied, Victor resumed his formal pose and expression.

"You'll become a strong leader, and obey the Covenant's laws while I'm away, I trust?"

"Of course, father."

"That's my darling girl," he replied, nearly letting his guard fall. He kissed her forehead and second the two customary parting kisses on her wrist before leaving her in the council room, his icy kisses almost melting on her flesh as he left.

---

"Lucian. LUCIAN!"

The lycan's wide eyes met those of his agitated father's.

"Stand and bow your head!" Ambrus commanded. Lucian obeyed, though he let his eye wander to the departing carriage. The v-crest embroidered on the back identified this as Victor's caravan, and the trumpets blaring in Lucian's ears signaled his leave for the next province. Some unknown disappointment stirred in Lucian's chest while Sonja's face invaded his mind.

"Are you deaf, boy?" his father whispered angrily, vampire soldiers nearby staring at the pair, silver whips in their eager hands twitching slightly.

"I'm sorry, father," he sincerely apologized. He didn't fear the narrowly escaped whipping, though he knew they would torture his innocent father for merely being with an insolent lycan. It seemed that these days that there was decreasing compassion for the loyalty of lycans, and a growing taste for stretching their whips, testing the limits of the power given to them by birthright.

"I don't understand what could possibly be clouding your head to the point that you ignore your own father," Ambrus said, slipping a question into a statement.

"I, uh, it's just been the new moon. Affects everyone in some way or another."

Sonja was his new moon.

He often imagined seeing her again, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone. He wouldn't admit to having risked traveling the forbidden passages several times that week in hopes of seeing her, even if it were true. Even if he was planning on doing it again.

"Father, I'm not feeling well. I think I'll see you at home," he lied. His father agreed, but only in words. He worried for his son, though he feared investigating it.

Lucian figured this to be an opportune moment to travel down the forbidden corridors, a chance to help him accept what could never be. He cautiously moved through the halls and navigated to the armory where they had first met to say goodbye to a shadow already passed.

***

Sonja's thumb mindlessly circled the deep blue stone at the center of her pendant. She remembered the day her father had given her the pendant. The day her mother passed.

"A precious gift," he said, lifting the chain above her head like a glass crown before gently laying it on her shoulders, the chain embracing her neck, "for my most precious daughter."

She commented on his words being too cliché, though she knew there was no hiding the excitement on her face. She saw the faint glow beneath the surface of the stone's sharp blue stare, a promise of light in the depths of darkness. It captured little bits of her soul to wear as proud color around her neck.

The pendant didn't leave her neck until weeks later, when Jocelyn told her about her mother's fate on the other side of the country. Information her father had hidden from her for so long so he wouldn't have to accept her sorrowed face. But still, she loved him. She still loved that pendant, and what it represented.

And now, years from that childhood, her feelings hadn't changed. Letting her father's lies construct the world around her, however, would change. She knew she had to follow that glow that consumed her soul, deep within the jewel, to live in a world she could call her own. She silently apologized to her father as she left the room to find Lucian.

---

Sonja escaped the entourage of guards her father had assigned to protect her while they were feeding on some of the new human servants given to the castle after a few serfs had come up short on that month's fees. She fled to the familiar corridor, courage burning in her inflamed heart and her determined eyes. She stopped before turning the final corner, holding her breath while promising herself in dead silence not to be disappointed with the more likely outcome. She couldn't have been happier to be wrong.

Sonja appeared before Lucian like a golden ghost, a welcome apparition, an angel, in the most ideal description. Could she truly be standing before him now? Her immediate smile was too warm to be a dream.

"I knew you'd come back. I can't explain why, but it makes me… happy," she confessed, turning her face to conceal the embarrassment and an invisible blush that would've danced on her face like a wildfire if she hadn't been born dead. His strong and lively presence was the clearest and brightest sign that life existed in her father's breathless walls.

Lucian opened his mouth to speak, but closed it instantly when he heard distant voices coming closer. Sonja hadn't wasted her time in the past week, and had planned for possible interruptions, almost hoping for it. With superhuman speed she grabbed his wrist and pulled him in the opposite direction, her gentle grip needing his trust. He followed obediently, as if faith in her had been imprinted on him long before.

At nearly matching pace, they drifted down the endless hallways, almost flying toward their destination. They stopped only for a door, larger and older than many other in the castle but yet so discreetly placed it could often go unnoticed. Tucked away so no stray rays of light could peer through its aged cracks, Sonja pushed the door open and revealed a small garden, her miniature Eden.

She led Lucian down a small path, the cobblestone weathered from storm and age. With her attentive care, the garden was spared all weeds and pests, only full blossoms and enchanting vines existed in her dreamscape. Lucian stared in wonder, feeling as if he had escaped his bondage and stepped into the most ancient fairytale, the most flawless fantasy.

"One of my most favorite presents," she remarked, pulling Lucian from his reverie. "He gave me this small spot of land for my twelfth birthday, a little over three years after my mother had gone. He planted a garden and built walls. This was his way of giving me a freedom and a prison, a view of it from my window."

Sonja pointed to the tower behind them, the third story a balcony and the face of her bedroom.

"We used to walk the path often together, when his work would become too tiresome and my youth too lonely… it's been ages since he's come, and for the longest time I've had no one to share it with," she explained, handing a small piece of her life and her heart to him.

"I could never have imagined a more perfect place, and had it existed, I could never asked for the right to see it," he answered while caressing a fragile exotic flower.

"That's why it's gift. It can't be claimed in its full glory, only shared," she replied, her happiness swelling as she had finally met someone who could appreciate this solace as she could.

"You think like God, but I am no Adam. I will never spoil this garden," he swore, spotting an empty plot in the corner. "But perhaps, you will let me add to it?"

She nodded in approval, her curiosity with this man growing. Lycans with this large a heart could not be the terrible beasts her father depicted them to be in his every description. She felt the desire to know more.

A light flashed in her room.

"Quickly! You must go! They'll be looking for me by now," she hastily instructed, though Lucian had taken the same sudden heed as Sonja had. He briskly headed for the wall and prepared to climb over it before she halted him, her hands quickly grabbing his arm.

"Flowers bloom fullest in the springtime… will you return with something for me soon?" she asked expectantly.

"Sooner than I will be gone, I promise you," she whispered in reply. Her heart elated, she released him as he propelled over the wall, ascending the world they both knew.

"Then I'll wait," she promised in return to his passed shadow. "I'll wait."

---

What do you think? The garden scene might be a bit long, though I intended it to be more metaphorical than an important setting. I think it ended up as both. I'll try to speed the next chapter up, I'm not sure I want to write a 20 chapter story, but at this rate it might be. Yikes! Anyways, reviews and ratings are always appreciated!


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